Faith as a Mustard Seed

1 Corinthians 13:2 (NASB), “And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” As we all know, the message of this chapter is that having the attribute of love is greater than anything else we might possess, even the ability to wield God’s power through “faith.” But my purpose here is to explore an ancillary concept, having “all faith” such that we can wield God’s power.

Many of us have sat through sermons where it was asserted that if we believe enough, if the strength of our faith is strong enough, then whatever we ask will be granted to us. And so, when faced with a dying loved one, we pray, even to tears, and yet our loved one dies. What are we to think? That we did not believe God could heal our loved one? Or that we did not believe strongly enough? That our faith was too little? I believe all of that misses the mark!

In Matthew 17:20, Jesus says in answer to a question about the seeming lack of power of his disciples to cast out a demon, "because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you.” Jesus repeats this message again in Matthew 21:21-22, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith, and do not doubt, you shall not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, be taken up and cast into the sea, it shall happen. And all the things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive. Mark 11:23-24 words the same message this way, “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, and believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you.” Luke presents yet another version of a similar message in Luke 17:6, “if you have faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and be planted in the sea”; and it would obey you.

The first question to ask is what attribute does a mustered seed have? It is the smallest in size of the seeds common to the area. But, like all the larger seeds, it follows its programming, its DNA, and replicates its kind. So locked up in a small seed is the power to become like its originator. So rather than thinking of having “all faith” as having a great deal of “wishing power” I think the idea of having "all faith" is having the power to become like its originator. So when we are told to have faith as or like a mustard seed, we are told to become as faithful as Christ, in whom we were born again. So spiritually Christ is our originator.

What is God’s will for the dying person? To call him or her home, or to give more time? When you prayed, did you know God’s will in that specific circumstance? So did you ask for what was in your will, and what you hoped was in God’s will? How did the sinless Christ pray? Your will be done! So we are to ask God for what we want, as long as it seems to us to be in accord with God’s will, but if we claim we know God’s specific plan for the future, without a doubt, we are ignoring that we are not prophets. Jesus did not impose His will upon the future unless it was in accord with His Father, and if we have faith like a mustard seed, we will follow His example.

Which is greater, to perform sign and wonder miracles or to present Christ to others - To cast a tree into the sea or to help pull a lost soul from the realm of darkness? To have it your way or become Christ-like?

Bottom line, I you have the faithful faith of a mustard seed, you will become like Christ, and like Christ, when you ask in the will of the Father, it will be granted unto you. God bless.